Tag : Technology

South African born Elon Musk is the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Musk wants to save our planet; he wants to send citizens into space, to form a colony on Mars; he wants to make money while doing these things; and he wants us all to know about it. The personal tale of Musk's life comes with all the trappings one associates with a great, drama-filled story. He is the Steve Jobs of the present and the future, and for the past twelve months, he has been shadowed by tech reporter, Ashlee Vance. to create an important, exciting and intelligent account of this extraordinary tech leader.

South African born Elon Musk is the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Musk wants to save our planet; he wants to send citizens into space, to form a colony on Mars; he wants to make money while doing these things; and he wants us all to know about it. The personal tale of Musk's life comes with all the trappings one associates with a great, drama-filled story. He is the Steve Jobs of the present and the future, and for the past twelve months, he has been shadowed by tech reporter, Ashlee Vance. to create an important, exciting and intelligent account of this extraordinary tech leader.

With some of American tech’s most myopic companies raking in record profits, it’s remarkable that Elon Musk has moved so boldly into electric cars, rockets and clean energy—and doubly remarkable how well he is succeeding in dragging a risk-averse culture with him. Ashlee Vance’s biography of the man is an enjoyable look at how Mr. Musk epitomizes what my mother always told me: If you want the world to change, you’d better do it yourself

A riveting story of obsession, music, crime, and money, featuring visionaries and criminals, moguls and tech-savvy teenagers. It’s about the greatest pirate in history, the most powerful executive in the music business, a revolutionary invention and an illegal website four times the size of the iTunes Music Store. Journalist Stephen Witt traces the secret history of digital music piracy, from the German audio engineers who invented the mp3, to a North Carolina compact-disc manufacturing plant where factory worker Dell Glover leaked nearly two thousand albums over the course of a decade, to the high-rises of midtown Manhattan where music executive Doug Morris cornered the global market on rap, and, finally, into the darkest recesses of the Internet. Through these interwoven narratives, Witt has written a thrilling book that depicts the moment in history when ordinary life became forever entwined with the world online—when, suddenly, all the music ever recorded was available for free. An irresistible never-before-told story of greed, cunning, genius, and deceit, this isn’t just a story of the music industry—it’s a must-read history of the Internet itself.

A riveting story of obsession, music, crime, and money, featuring visionaries and criminals, moguls and tech-savvy teenagers. It’s about the greatest pirate in history, the most powerful executive in the music business, a revolutionary invention and an illegal website four times the size of the iTunes Music Store. Journalist Stephen Witt traces the secret history of digital music piracy, from the German audio engineers who invented the mp3, to a North Carolina compact-disc manufacturing plant where factory worker Dell Glover leaked nearly two thousand albums over the course of a decade, to the high-rises of midtown Manhattan where music executive Doug Morris cornered the global market on rap, and, finally, into the darkest recesses of the Internet. Through these interwoven narratives, Witt has written a thrilling book that depicts the moment in history when ordinary life became forever entwined with the world online—when, suddenly, all the music ever recorded was available for free. An irresistible never-before-told story of greed, cunning, genius, and deceit, this isn’t just a story of the music industry—it’s a must-read history of the Internet itself.

Stephen Witt tells of how technology in the form of the MP3 digital format brought the music industry to its knees. His book is a tour de force, delving into the criminal underworld of hackers and pilferers as well the complacent corporate boardroom.

Carlota Perez draws upon Schumpeter's theories of the clustering of innovations to explain why each technological revolution gives rise to a paradigm shift and a "New Economy" and how these "opportunity explosions", focused on specific industries, also lead to the recurrence of financial bubbles and crises. These findings are illustrated with examples from the past two centuries: the industrial revolution, the age of steam and railways, the age of steel and electricity, the emergence of mass production and automobiles, and the current information revolution/knowledge society.

Carlota Perez draws upon Schumpeter's theories of the clustering of innovations to explain why each technological revolution gives rise to a paradigm shift and a "New Economy" and how these "opportunity explosions", focused on specific industries, also lead to the recurrence of financial bubbles and crises. These findings are illustrated with examples from the past two centuries: the industrial revolution, the age of steam and railways, the age of steel and electricity, the emergence of mass production and automobiles, and the current information revolution/knowledge society.

Acclaimed one of the "seminal books... comparable in ultimate importance to... Galileo or Malthus or Rousseau or Mill", "Cybernetics" was judged by twenty-seven historians, economists, educators, and philosophers to be one of those books published during the "past four decades," which may have a substantial impact on public thought and action in the years ahead." (Saturday Review).

Acclaimed one of the "seminal books... comparable in ultimate importance to... Galileo or Malthus or Rousseau or Mill", "Cybernetics" was judged by twenty-seven historians, economists, educators, and philosophers to be one of those books published during the "past four decades," which may have a substantial impact on public thought and action in the years ahead." (Saturday Review).

In Data and Goliath, security expert Bruce Schneier shows us exactly what we can do to reform our government surveillance programs and shake up surveillance-based business models, while also providing tips for you to protect your privacy every day. You'll never look at your phone, your computer, your credit cards, or even your car in the same way again.

In Data and Goliath, security expert Bruce Schneier shows us exactly what we can do to reform our government surveillance programs and shake up surveillance-based business models, while also providing tips for you to protect your privacy every day. You'll never look at your phone, your computer, your credit cards, or even your car in the same way again.

A pithy, pointed, and highly readable explanation of what we know in the wake of the Snowden revelations, with practical steps that ordinary people can take if they want to do something about the threats to privacy and liberty posed not only by the government but by the Big Data industry

Economists use the term "bandwagon effect" to describe the benefit a consumer enjoys as a result of others' using the same product or service. They are difficult to get started and often fail before getting under way. The most successful bandwagon, apart from telephone service, is the internet. In this book Jeffrey Rohlfs shows how the dynamics of bandwagons differ from those of conventional products and services, with case studies including fax machines, telephones, CD players, VCRs, PCs, TV, and the Internet.

Economists use the term "bandwagon effect" to describe the benefit a consumer enjoys as a result of others' using the same product or service. They are difficult to get started and often fail before getting under way. The most successful bandwagon, apart from telephone service, is the internet. In this book Jeffrey Rohlfs shows how the dynamics of bandwagons differ from those of conventional products and services, with case studies including fax machines, telephones, CD players, VCRs, PCs, TV, and the Internet.

What the author calls ‘Bandwagon Effects’ most people call network effects. If you are thinking about starting or investing in a business with network effects, this is the best (and only good?) book on the topic.

The bible for bringing cutting-edge products to larger markets. In the Technology Adoption Life Cycle—which begins with innovators and moves to early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards—there is a vast chasm between the early adopters and the early majority. The challenge for innovators and marketers is to narrow this chasm and ultimately accelerate adoption across every segment.

The bible for bringing cutting-edge products to larger markets. In the Technology Adoption Life Cycle—which begins with innovators and moves to early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards—there is a vast chasm between the early adopters and the early majority. The challenge for innovators and marketers is to narrow this chasm and ultimately accelerate adoption across every segment.

Although a bit too enterprise (vs consumer) focused for my taste, this is an extremely intelligent and useful book. You’ve probably heard about the central thesis (lots of startups get stuck in the “chasm”- in between early adopter and mainstream customers) but there are lots of other juicy anecdotes in the book and it actually prescribes an actionable set of strategies for overcoming the chasm. I’ve reread this one a couple of times. The sequel Inside the Tornado is good too.

If managers seriously want to develop effective strategies for competing in the new economy, they must understand the fundamental economics of information technology. The first book to distill the economics of information and networks into practical business strategies, Information Rules is a guide to the winning moves that can help business leaders navigate successfully through the tough decisions of the information economy.

If managers seriously want to develop effective strategies for competing in the new economy, they must understand the fundamental economics of information technology. The first book to distill the economics of information and networks into practical business strategies, Information Rules is a guide to the winning moves that can help business leaders navigate successfully through the tough decisions of the information economy.

‘Real economists’ talk about the economics of information goods (roughly defined as zero marginal cost goods). Sometimes a bit obvious if you’ve studied economics before but overall a really interesting read. Especially like the parts on different ways to tier pricing for information goods.